There's no place like home...

We've been in the Trumansburg/Ithaca area for 2 weeks now. In that time, the boys have all found summer jobs, I've attended a retirement party and an anniversary celebration, I reunited with my dog, have been to Rochester, have painted some of my house, trimmed bushes, and have moved all (almost all) of my stuff back into my huge old house. Whew!

Everyone asks me, "So...how was Japan?" How do I possibly answer such a question? I've taken to giving the short and mostly true answer: "Fun. Great. A wonderful experience." The longer answer is reserved for the closest friends- they are the ones who really want the full version. In truth, my 10 months in Japan ran the gamut. It was fabulous, fascinating, energizing, exciting, empowering, and at times, terrible, frustrating, exhausting and also lonely. We all had our personal struggles. The boys had some serious rough patches, and Robin worked and traveled A LOT. But overall it was a good year: one we will remember and cherish. I had everything that made me who I am pulled out from under me the day I stepped onto the plane, and I had to figure out who to be. It was tough at first, but after the initial shock (cultural and personal) wore off, I relaxed and had a great time "floating." The turning point came at Christmas and I give my nieces a lot of credit for that. On one of the last days in Japan, Sarah and I went on a Women's Group white water rafting excursion. On the way up to the Nagano area we did an exercise to find out what we were all most proud of. My response: I conquered Tokyo. In my own very small way, I became comfortable enough to get anywhere, ask directions, take the metro and Japan Rail, hail a cab, order in a restaurant, and relish my new experiences. Tokyo started feeling like a second home.

However. There is nothing that compares with the feeling of putting on a favorite, comfortable old pair of shoes when your feet are a little weary. And that's the way coming home has felt to me.

I've made some great friends in Tokyo for whom I hold loads of affection, and am glad that I get to go back for just a while longer.

Now, I will soak up the starry night sky, get in some kayaking, listen to the song birds, hike the rim trail, marvel at the huge expanse of my lovely green lawn, enjoy friends and mentally let down a little. I'm off to Wegman's!!!